This movie is wrong on several levels. The first being the mere fact that Jack Black should probably never be allowed near twenty 10 year olds, ever. The second being how the audience fears for Jack Black's blood pressure as he flings, flails and performs the rock equivalent of "stupid human tricks" for the entirety of the movie. The risk of heart attack seems high in this new comedy about the value of a rock 'n' roll education.
Dewey (Black) is a rock music loser who has never held a real job in his life. Living with his best friend and his best friend's demanding girlfriend (Sarah Silverman), Dewey has nothing to his name but thousands of CDs, records, band stickers and a mattress on the floor of their apartment. Undeterred by his complete and total lack of success in even the local bar scene, Dewey is the eternal optimist; he lives only to rock.
Dewey's life changes once his band-mates callously throw him out of their band, leaving him with no money to pay his share of the rent. The requisite screwy mix-up occurs, and Dewey somehow ends up as a substitute teacher in a prestigious private elementary school. The hilarity ensues.
After an initial period of total apathy towards his well-bred, over-achieving students, Dewey realizes they may be of some use to him. Since he was tossed from his previous band, he would need to throw together another one in order to compete in the upcoming battle of the bands competition. After overhearing their legitimate talents in music class, he persuades his students to take part in a "state-wide school competition" by forming a rock group. Self-absorbed manipulation and exploitation of children has never been this funny.
Dewey skillfully plays to both the children's individual vanities and the worries of the uptight school principal (Joan Cusack). The writers had enough sense to know that stereotypes are funny, but stereotypes personified by kids are really funny. Accordingly, Dewey makes the gospel-singing, chubby black girl the back-up soloist, inspires the repressed guitarist to rebel against his controlling father, appoints the teacher's pet to the position of band manager and assigns the obviously gay kid the task of making the band's costumes. The writers miss no opportunity to embellish. In a scene when Dewey tries to inspire the kids to direct towards himself their best expressions of anger towards "the Man," the gay kid says, "You're tacky and I hate you."
In the process of creating his dream band, of which he is the center, Dewey gets as much as he gives. The plot is somewhat formulaic, though resists going for the super happy ending. The turns in the story are predictable and few, but this is not an Oscar-caliber film; it is a movie in the same vein as "Billy Madison" and "Happy Gilmore." No one who goes to see this is expecting "A Beautiful Mind," so they shouldn't be disappointed that Jack Black is no Russell Crowe and that there are no hokey, tear-jerking moments.
What Black does deliver is some great physical comedy that lies somewhere between Jim Carrey and Chris Farley. In "School of Rock," Black proves he's more than just a psychopath; he's a talented psychopath. Cusack also does her part to prove that she's still relevant, as she seamlessly meshes with Black's over-the-top manic pace. Silverman's comedic abilities could have been better utilized, though she was convincing as the evil girlfriend.
This movie has a lot of funny moments that come from the kids. Sometimes scene-stealers, they have some of the best one-liners in the script. "School of Rock" straddles the fence between a tired Hollywood plot and the demented mind of Jack Black. It ends up a happy mix that will leave you feeling good about the movie and about the fact that you will only ever experience Jack Black on-screen and not in person.
